Chicken and peach pie
2-3 lb. chicken (best with skin and bones, which add flavor, but a smaller amount of skinless/boneless chicken can be used)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
2 ribs celery, in 2-inch pieces
1 leek with a little green, in 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
4 whole cloves
5 medium peaches (1 1/2 lb), peeled*, pitted, and sliced into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup white wine
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp. cold water
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water (optional)
double pie crust for 9-10-inch pie pan
Rub the chicken all over with salt, pepper, and ginger. In a large pot, lightly brown chicken, onion, celery, and leek in oil over medium heat, about 15 minutes. Add stock and whole cloves; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 1 1/4 hours. Remove chicken, reserving cooking liquid and vegetables, and cool slightly. Remove and discard skin and bones; cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Mix meat with peaches, wine, garlic, ginger; cover and chill. Remove cloves from the cooking liquid and discard; puree liquid and vegetables. Chill (may quick-chill by freezing about 45 minutes) and skim off fat. Combine puree and cornstarch/water mixture, add to chicken, and stir until well-blended. Grease a 10 x 6 1/2 x 2-inch casserole or 9-10 x 2-inch round dish and line with 1/8 inch thick pie crust dough, leaving 1 1/2 inch overhang. Fill with chicken mixture. Top with second crust and seal with water. Pierce top and brush with egg if desired. Bake 30 min at 400F then lower oven to 350F and bake another 20 min. Allow to cool 10 min. before serving.
Adapted from: Cooking with fruit : the complete guide to using fruit throughout the meal, the day, the year / Rolce Redard Payne and Dorrit Speyer Senior. Wings Books, 1995.
*See following recipe for the easiest way to peel peaches.
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If you bought extra peaches (and who wouldn't be tempted?) how about drying them for later snacking:
Oven-dried peaches
Blanch peaches in boiling water for a few seconds and quickly remove to cold water; skins should slip off easily. Halve and remove pits; cut into smaller pieces if desired. Optionally, place in acidulated water to prevent discoloration. Arrange pieces cut-side down on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking tray; place in a 225F oven, leaving door slightly ajar. Dry 24-36 hrs for halves, 12-16 hrs for quarters, 8-12 hrs for smaller pieces, turning pieces halfway through drying.
Adapted from: Preserving fruit : 101 essential tips / Oded Schwartz. DK Pub., 1998.
More about peaches.
Versión en español: this post is also available in Spanish.
Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.
